| dc.description.abstract | Infectious diseases pose a continuous risk to the health and longevity of human, animal, and plant communities. Fortunately, immune systems are equipped to identify and eradicate these invading parasites. However, an effective immune response needs to balance the need to counteract a wide range of parasitic threats with the immunological and energetic costs associated with such defenses. This delicate balance is achieved through a layered network of immune regulators. These regulators ensure a swift and potent response to control infections, but they also promptly dial back the response to minimize immunopathology. Factors like life-stage, parasite exposure history, and genetic variability can influence how these regulators maintain this balance, but connecting the mechanisms driving changes to host-parasite interactions remains a challenge. Given these complexities, insects have emerged as an excellent model for studying immune regulation due to their well-defined immune networks and the ease of measuring their fitness traits. In the model insect Tribolium castaneum, exposure to a benign parasite early in life was found to influence immune regulation in adulthood. Using RNAi, it was also found that while amplifying immune pathway activation enhances immune responses and survival against bacterial infections, it exacts a significant cost on beetle fitness traits like female egg laying, gut health, body mass, and lifespan. | |
